Have You Met Madison Norris?
June 8, 2023
Although Madison Norris is one of Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall’s newest employees, she has long been interested in healthcare and is happy to be working at the continuing care retirement community in Wilmington, North Carolina where she helps residents live their lives to their fullest. Norris is a part-time wellness associate and will become a full-time employee on May 25th. She joined the staff after working as a wellness intern at the community from January through May last year. Even before that she had worked at Carolina Bay as a volunteer. She helped out in 2021 with the Carolina Bay Olympics which enables residents to compete in various fun events such as bocce ball, shuffleboard, lap swim, and hallway race.
During her senior year at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where she earned a degree in exercise science, Norris applied for an internship at Carolina Bay. “When I knew I had to line up an internship, I called Carolina Bay immediately,” she says. “I was hopeful it would happen.” She already knew she’d enjoy working with older adults. “When I was in high school, I’d gotten my CNA and I did clinical work in a nursing home, so I knew I’d like this,” she says.
Her positive interactions with residents and experiences as an intern and then part-time employee at Carolina Bay solidified her decision to gear her career toward working with seniors. “I knew that it was my passion to work with older adults, and working here has only made that passion grow stronger,” she says. “I believe intergenerational relationships are so important in decreasing ageism and I feel very blessed to be able to work in an environment to foster those relationships every day.” Fitness and wellness are an important part of the culture at Carolina Bay, with the understanding that well-being enhances independence. During her internship, Norris shadowed and worked closely with staff. She watched them as they did initial and annual follow-up assessments to determine residents’ fitness levels and what exercise classes would suit them. “We meet with residents to introduce the wellness program. We talk about their interests and what their goals are and then, every year, residents can compare their fitness scores to previous years,” Norris says.
Eventually, with staff guidance, Norris was able to conduct assessments herself and co-lead exercise classes. “By the end of my internship I was pretty much leading classes myself with supervision,” she says. Carolina Bay offers a robust schedule of exercise classes, to appeal to every interest and fitness level. Four to six classes are offered each day, five days per week. Residents have a range of different types of classes from which to choose including three levels of water aerobics, classes that focus on resistance training and core strength, and others that emphasize agility and balance.
For Norris, there is no better place to be than Carolina Bay. She is now furthering her interest in working with older adults as she completes a Master’s Degree in Gerontology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
To complete a thesis for her degree, she studied financial elder abuse. “Financial elder abuse, while not related to the tasks of my job, is a personal interest of mine,” she says. “I have become more aware of how prevalent it is, how underreported it is, and the hurdles that need to be crossed to mitigate it, and work towards early recognition, proper training, and increased reporting ratios,” she says. She will present her thesis to the residents at Carolina Bay later this month. Looking to the future, Norris is enthused about the continuing care concept offered at Carolina Bay which provides access to all levels of care should a resident’s needs change. “The idea is that they can live here regardless of what happens to them in their life,” she says. Likewise, she sees Carolina Bay as a place that will support and nurture her as she moves through the stages of her career.
Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall
Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall is a full-service luxury rental retirement community set amid a greenery-filled campus and easily accessible to Wilmington, North Carolina’s bustling shopping, historic and dining districts and island beaches. Carolina Bay offers independent living that supports a vibrant lifestyle for active seniors. Bradley Creek Health Center, located onsite, provides assisted living, memory support, rehabilitation and skilled nursing for both residents of Carolina Bay and the surrounding area, thus providing a complete continuum of care for seniors. Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall is owned and operated by Liberty Senior Living, LLC, a division of Liberty Healthcare Management that specializes in senior living and retirement communities. To learn more about Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall, please visit https://www.carolinabayatautumnhall.com. To learn more about Liberty Senior Living and the communities they offer, please visit www.LibertySeniorLiving.com .